Otto II of Germany

Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (955-7 December 983) was Holy Roman Empire from 25 December 967 to 7 December 983, succeeding Otto I of Germany and preceding Otto III of Germany.

Biography
Otto was born in 955, the son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. He became co-emperor with his father in 967, and he became sole emperor on his father's death in 973; in 977, he fought against the rebellious Henry II of Bavaria, Henry I of Augsburg, and Henry III of Bavaria in the War of the Three Henrys, defeating the major revolt by 978. This victory allowed him to exclude the Bavarian branch of the Ludolfingers from the succession, and he set his sights on external affairs. In 980, he began a campaign to annex all of Italy to the Holy Roman Empire. His conquests brought him into conflict with the Byzantine Empire and Emirate of Sicily, and his defeat at the Battle of Stilo on 14 July 982 ended his campaigns in southern Italy in disaster. In 983, the Great Slav Rising began, forcing him to abandon the Holy Roman Empire's lands east of the Elbe River. He suddenly died at the age of 28 in 983, leaving his infant son Otto III of Germany as king, precipitating a crisis.